In a lot of ways, it was a formula for winning a four day cricket match when fielding first: bowl your opponents out on the first day; put up a big first innings total; then bowl your opponents out again with enough time left on day four to win it.

Comprehensive might be the wrong. Efficient comes close. But the only real way to put it is that Sussex got the job done with a very even handed attack (only one bowler had more than three wickets in either innings) (Magoffin’s four in Derbyshire’s second innings) and two monster innings from Michael Yardy (153 off of 236) and Chris Jordan’s blistering 92 off of 105 – the latter could in a lot of ways could be called a match winning innings.

No other Sussex batsman scored over 25 runs in either innings.

It goes to show that despite cricket being a team orientated game – every player gets at least one, if not two, chances to make an impact, which is very unlike most sports – games can also be turned on their heads by massive individual performances like Yardy’s, Jordan’s, or Stuart Broad’s second innings against New Zealand at Lord’s last week (more on that in a second).

Michael Yardy was involved in eight different partnerships in his first innings 153. Time after time after, his partner would fall, but he kept his head while all those around him were losing theirs. The first four fell in just 20.1 overs and if Yardy had fallen too, the match would very well had been lost.

And for Chris Jordan to enter the match when his team were teetering at 109/5 and give his team the two things they so desperately needed, runs and stability, probably won the match for his team.

For Sussex, there were, really, no other standout performances with the ball or with the bat for the club.

I would say this is worrisome, but right now they are positively routing Somerset in a four day match at Horsham, so I am not too worried about it. Steve Magoffin and his outstanding 11-4-20-8 in Somerset’s first innings are the standout performance this go ’round. Full match report on that one to follow in a couple days.

Some other matches worth mentioned are, as previously noted, England’s absolute shellacking of New Zealand at Lord’s as well as Pakistan’s upcoming two One Day Internationals against Ireland, in Ireland.

There is not a lot more to say about the former match. It’s really a shame. I felt awful for New Zealand players and supporters. A collapse like that can have long lasting negative effects.

I really did think the Kiwis had a chance to win back on two, and after bowling England out for only 213 on day three, New Zealand had set themselves a very achievable target of 239 with five sessions to go (barring any rain). But they were bowled out for only 68 in less than two hours of play.

Awful. Just awful.

Hopefully Headingley goes better for the tourists. First ball is Friday morning.

And regarding Stuart Broad: what a performance. He has a lot to prove still to England supporters (and selectors) but I think he might have turned a corner at Lord’s. We shall see.

Regarding the latter two matches, Cricket Ireland has been hyping the, excuse me, living shit out of them since the tour was announced last winter. I really don’t care who wins, and the matches are of course not available to watch here in the States, but I do hope for blue skies, big crowds, and supremely entertaining matches. Cricket needs a strong Ireland and a strong Pakistan.